


Lost But Not Forgotten

by Tonysfriend42



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-31 23:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18324128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonysfriend42/pseuds/Tonysfriend42
Summary: Even bad-asses have to mourn.A year after the death of Roland and the opening of the second Vault, the people of Sanctuary still remember friends new and old.





	Lost But Not Forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, just fyi. This is my first piece of fanfic ever and I'm really not sure how good it is. If you wanna leave any kind of feed back or suggestions, feel free. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it.

It had been one year since the death of Roland by Handsome Jack. Life moved ever forward, and the Vault Hunters moved with it. Sanctuary still floated above the Highlands and there was always more loot to be found, but today was a day of remembrance and mourning. Below where the city floated was a statue of the leader of the Crimson Raiders, as well as the memorial to Bloodwing. The statues were a symbol that no one lives forever, but you can become immortal. In the memory of the people you loved most, you will endure. 

Chairs lined the hill, all full with attendees. In the year that had passed much had changed. Maya and Krieg had become an item, ending many bets and becoming the source of many “I knew its!", mostly from Gaige. The psycho had changed much throughout his time as a Vault Hunter. He could now speak in full sentences(most of the time) and was less prone to yelling about meat bicycles. He still loved to rip and tear but on Pandora, that was an asset. Salvadore was much the same, but he had gotten his abuela a house in Sanctuary and everyone was ecstatic as him. (Her cooking is sublime) Athena and Janey Springs came to live with the crew as well, though with a much colder reception. The rest of the Vault Hunters were the same as always, though Lilith was still working on her empathy for others. Fiona had joined their ranks, thanks to a recommendation from Athena. She came and went as she pleased, sometimes with Rhys, an uncomfortable meeting, or with Sasha, who the team gained a liking to immediately.

The reason most of the inhabitants of the floating city were here was to hold a service for not just Roland but all others who had died before and since. Most showed up in black. Suits aren’t easy to find in the Borderlands but they scrounged and made what they could. Krieg and Brick were especially hard with their hulking frames but they did their best. They actually found a suit for Brick but he ripped the sleeves off after five minutes. After everyone attending found their seats, Lilith stood before the crowd, behind a rickety podium. She cleared her throat for silence. “Good afternoon, everyone.” She said in a steady voice. All eyes turned to her. “We are gathered here today to remember the fallen among us.” She looks around the crowd. Most are holding beers, because there isn’t a gathering on Pandora that doesn’t have booze. “The first speaker will be Dr. Zed.” She steps off as Zed rises from his seat in the first row. “Thank ya darlin’.” He clears his throat as well and shifts his patchwork tie. “Now I ain’t that good at public speakin, but when Lilith was puttin this together I knew I had to say a few words about an old friend of mine.” Dr. Zed pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. “Now most of yall, especially those off you who are newer,” He looked at Fiona but also at Maya and Krieg and Gaige. “Don’t know who I’m gonna talk about but by the end, I hope you’ll understand why he needs to be remembered.” He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “His name was Theodore K. Baha, but erybody just called him T.K. He used to live out in Fyrestone with me and some of the other folks couple of years back.” Nods of recognition can be seen in the crowd along with some smiles, one of which being Bricks. “I had just moved my clinic out there and was looking for some help finding the damn thing. I was usin’ an old van from wayback to haul some equipment out there when a tire blew and I go runnin off the damn road. Through a skag den and almost into some shack out in the gulley.” More smiles and nods can be seen, from people who have heard it before. “I get out and and start walkin tward the door. And who do I see but this one-legged old coot sittin with a old double barrel ‘cross his lap. He noticed me, mostly on the account of me almost crashin inta his house and he says to me,” He pantomimes pulling a rifle to his shoulder and changes the pitch of his voice.” One more step and it’ll be your last!” He goes back to his own voice and says,” I had left ma sidearm in the van and was scared shitless!” Some of the audience is laughing. “Then… the bastard starts cacklin at me. He dropped the shotgun and told me,’You shoulda seen your face!’ I almost strangled the old bastard!” Most can see he’s smiling underneath his breathing mask. “Then the crazy old coot invited me in for a beer and said he had spare tire I could borrow. I eventually got to my clinic and he told me to come back if I ever wanted to have another drink with him.” He starts to droop where he’s standing. “Then, well, after these three and,” He stops to gesture up to the statue.” Him, came to town, started taking down his men, well ol Flynt wasn’t too happy. He… ah… he had a couple of his men come and…” Dr. Zed was starting to sniffle. Lilith comes up from the crowd, but Zed waves her away. “I… I knew somethin wasn’t right, so when Scooter sent em to check up on the old man, I was a little relieved. But when they came back…. We was devastated. But Flynt still needed to pay, so they went an took care of all them.” He motions to Brick and Mordecai and Lilith. “After that I took his body out to Skag Gully and buried im with his wife.” He looks back at the crowd, eyes red and puffy. “T.K Baha was a good man, just tryin to get by in a shitty place. No matter what happened, you could rely on T.K to be optimistic. I had a lot of beers and shared a lot of stories with the old man. So it’s what he would’ve wanted.” He raises his bottle of rakk ale above his head and shouts. “TO T.K!” The whole crowd shouts back, “To T.K!” Loud drinking and gulping follow. Zed steps down from the podium. Lilith gives him a hug on the way by. She wipes her face a little as she stands before the crowd. “Thank you Zed. I miss T.K as well. Our next speaker is Mordecai.” 

The Truxican man stands up from the crowd and makes his way forward. Lilith pats his shoulder when he gets behind the podium. He seems sober for once. “Thanks Zed, I miss the old man too.” Zed raises his drink. “Last year, I lost someone as well. She was my best friend. I know a lot of you might laugh, but Bloodwing and I were amigos.” He looks around at the crowd, looking for rejection or laughter. “Before I met Lil and Brick and Roland, I was just a wanderer. Did what I could to survive out in the desert, took whatever jobs I could find. The only one I trusted to watch my back was Blood. She saved my ass more times than I can count.” Brick pipes up from the front row. “Yeah, mine too!” Mordecai looks at him and smiles. “Damn right she did! Remember that time she took a guys cojones clean off?” Brick laughs at the memory. “Yeah! The asshole barely noticed!” Both are laughing hysterically along with many people in the audience. As he calms down, Mordecai seems to sober. “I was so goddamn angry when Jack killed her. Booze was my only escape.” He looks down at the podium. “I was in a bad place, but everyone helped me grieve and move forward. I’ll always be grateful you guys.” He nods to Maya and the rest of the team. “Plus, learning about this little asshole helped a lot.” He whistles loudly between two fingers. Talon comes flying from his perch on Bloodwing's statue, landing on Mordecai's arm. “I’ll miss her, but knowing that her mijo is here helps.” He raises his other hand, holding some soda. “To Bloodwing, the best bird I ever had!” The crowd yells back at him. “To Bloodwing!” 

Mordecai hops down and takes a seat right next to Brick, who pulls him in a massive hug. The sniper, wriggling in his grip, curses him and his huge muscles. The next speakers takes the podium, a pair of women, as different as you can get in terms of body types, but their faces are matched in their grief. Moxxi and Ellie stand next to each other, Moxxi being right in front of the podium and Ellie at her left shoulder. “Hello everyone, the person who I am talking about today was...was..” She falters in her speech and sniffles, trying to keep the tears at bay. “His name was Scooter. He was the best son a mother could ask for. I miss him so much.” Moxxi’s cheeks start to become damp with tears, but she continues with her speech. “The last time I saw him, he had told me he was going out to Hollow Point to set up a new garage, get some more business. I didn't hear from him or anything about him for a month and a half, I...I…” Moxxi finally breaks down sobbing, Ellie quickly comforting her. Ellie then steps up to the podium, eyes mostly dry and angry. “I dun knew that he shouldn’t have gone so far from home, but he was like, ‘I need to expand my customer base’ or whatever.” Ellie said with a snarl. “We don't hear nothin for almost two months, then little Miss Hat here,” She points to Fiona in the second row, who turns red and stares at the bigger woman on stage. “Shows up, following that gladiator gal, and tells us he's DEAD! JUST LIKE THAT!” Ellie is getting louder and louder, until Moxxi puts a hand on her shoulder. “Ellie hun, don't blame Fiona.” Ellie turns on her mother, surprise written on her face. “But! She-” Moxxi cuts the younger women off. “No. Scooter made his own choices.” Moxxi turns back to the audience, who has started whispering among themselves. As soon as she turns to look at them, they all go quiet. She clears her throat and carefully dabs away any tears, trying not to take any makeup with them. “Scooter was a good man, who did everything he could to protect the ones he loved.  
He was never one to turn away someone he could help, within reason.” She amends. “My son died helping Fiona and her friends get to Helios. Because of him, they were able to make it there and take down that damn station and clear the last of Hyperions influence on Pandora.” Some shouts and whooping of agreement come from the crowd. “I am proud that Scooter was part of that and I know he would be proud too.” Moxxi lifts her head high and her drink higher as she says,”To Scooter!” The crowd, with Fiona’s voice a little louder, shouts back. “To Scooter!” The mother-daughter couple come down from the stage, while Fiona stands up to meet them. “I really am sorry,” she whispers to the pair. “There..we…” Moxie holds up a gloved hand. “I’m sure you did what you could.” Fiona stands there, eyes starting to water, as she is able to finally honor Scooter’s final request. “He wanted us to tell you that he did some really…” Fiona starts to choke up, as Moxie and Ellie look on in equal confusion. “He did some really cool shit. And we would’ve died without him.” As she starts to finally release her tears, Moxie pulls the rookie Vault Hunter into a hug. “Damn right he did.” Ellie joins the embrace after a beat, holding her mother and Fiona tight. A beat of silence. Then,”I WANNA HUG TOO!” The mountain of muscle and love that is Brick comes barreling from the other side of the aisle. He scoops them all up in his gigantic arms and squeezes them. He starts bawling as well. “I MISS HIM TOO!! HE WAS THE COOLEST! BWA-AH-AH-AH!” Brick cries. The three women protest, as they start to asphyxiate. The women are eventually pried from Bricks grasp by Krieg and Salvador, with Mordecai soothing the Berserker. The memorial continues fairly easily from there, with a few others telling stories or talking about others lost in the last year or so. Many speak of others lost during the Burning of New Haven, and a moment of silence for Helena Pierce is observed as well. Later, most of the people have moved up to Moxies Bar. They all sit around, either drinking liquor or soda, in Tiny Tina and Mordecai’s case. As Zed sits in the bar, surrounded by more friends than he’s ever had(that he hadn’t bioengineered himself) Zed finds himself thinking again of T.K. Like he said before, he was a good man who knew that being hopeful is sometimes all we have on a planet like Pandora. He was happy to hear that Maya and her pals had sent those plans of his to Una Baha, so she could finally get some kinda justice for her dear uncle. For a second he even thought he could hear the old bastards laugh too, happy that there was still joy on this shit stain of a planet. And Zed was too.


End file.
